Page 18 of Brace and Chase

“Family room,” he says between bites of his sandwich. I nod and dress back in my suit quickly, then haul ass to the family room.

Maybe the kiddos are here today. I forgot to look for them during the game because... well, it’s obvious why, but hanging out with them is just what I need. There’s nothing cuter than Jamie, Jake, Jules, and Sterling’s kids, and I want to hang out with them tonight. It’s the only thing that will bring me peace.

But when I step into the room, I know there’ll be no peace any time soon.

There he is, surrounded by his brothers... and cousins, aunts, uncles, and mother by the size of the group around him. All of them smiling. All of them cheering for him.

Fuck this shit, and fuck Charlie Heart.

EIGHT

CHARLIE

Everythinginside me insists on not moving one more muscle than what’s needed to walk, but when I get to the door of the family room, I force my cheeks apart and paste the most genuine smile I have in me onto my face.

I thought I was in deep shit yesterday when I realized Brotnik would not be welcoming in the least, but the little stunt he pulled right before warmups is on a whole other level.

Even though I’ve been thinking about it since then, I still have no clue what I could’ve ever done to Nikolay Brotnik to earn the level of hate and vitriol he spewed at me.

I’m proud of myself for how in control I stayed, though, if only for the fact that I didn’t give him a fucking shiner the second he slammed me against the wall. There’s also the fact that I managed to get my head in the game at all after that bullshit.

Now I’m going to have to tell Gab about this too—though she probably already knows. After all, Laney changed the lines back which means he heard about it too. Maybe he even saw it?

After Brotnik stormed off toward the ice I didn’t have the headspace to pay attention to my surroundings. Only thing I noticed was that despite being very close to the opening of the tunnel, the whole ordeal happened out of sight of the people in the stands.

If it hadn’t, it would’ve been the biggest mess of my whole career.And on my first day as a Pirate...

I’ve never been one for subtlety or doing things halfway, but making that kind of splash after coming back from a months-long retirement would’ve been too much even for me. Thankfully, no one who isn’t a Pirate knows anything was wrong behind the scenes.

I mean sure, the first period was a bit rocky, with Bear letting in a goal that he normally would’ve handled—at least from what I’ve seen of him—but we got back on track for the second and third period. We caught up enough that we earned the overtime, and then I did an epic dive for a save that bounced over to Jules. If one could plan such things it would have been pretty cool, but since I can’t, the miracle helped.

But fuck, I’m going to have my whole left side bruised for a couple of weeks at least. I got a quick X-ray done, and there’s definitely some damage, but no broken ribs thanks to all the protective gear they make us wear.

And now I have to somehow manage a whole evening with a dozen family members who are more than likely chomping at the bit to chat about the game.

I don’t even give myself another second of reprieve. I just have to push through.

Oh, I was wrong, it’s not a dozen family members, it’s only eleven.

I surprise myself when I realize my smile isn’t totally fake as I walk over to them.

My uncles Enzo, Atlas, Riccardo, Leo, and my aunt Allie all stand with my mom as soon as they see me. My cousins Wade, Travis, and Pierce, as well as my twin baby brothers Finn and Beau were all standing already, looming around and taking over most of the pretty big room.

I make the rounds, getting enthusiastic hugs—with backslaps—from my brothers and cousins, as well as proud looks from all the adults.

I mean, we’re all technically adults, but not while we’re surrounded by our parents, aunts, and uncles. It’s the natural way of things, to revert back to your younger self when there’s proper supervision around.

I’m sad that Sam and Harper—my closest cousins in age and if I’m honest, probably my best friends—couldn’t make it, but I get it. Harper has two kids with Owen, and Sam has his mini-me Colin and a whole damn company to run, which always makes quick trips like this one harder to fit in.

Soon enough, a debate begins—because that’s anothernatural fact when it comes to us Hearts. We argue over everything whenever the opportunity presents itself.

I watch from the sidelines, happy to be an observer tonight since I’m beat to hell and back, and I catch the way Enzo and Atlas are looking at each other as they drift closer. They’re holding hands, and it strikes me right then—whenever they came to see me in Atlanta and caught a game, I don’t think I ever saw them holding hands so openly at the arena there.

My throat closes with the realization, and the feeling of dread at the fact that I never thought twice about it before today. Goddamn, I can be so fucking oblivious sometimes.

A flurry of activity comes from the door and I see Sterling—oh my fucking God, that’s Sterling—come in. He has a baby in one arm and the other extended down, holding the tiny hand of his daughter.

He’s making nonsense noises at them both as he leads them to a couch, and all the chatter from my family slowly dies down until we’re all just staring at him.

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